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Asian-Pacific Regional Network on Occupational Safety and Health Information (ASIA-OSH)

Chemical safety, vol 4 No.1: 7-9 May 1997

Information on chemical safety through an integrated information system

by M.I.A. Majid, A.H. Hussin, R. Awang and D.A. Razak

 

Introduction

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of Malaysia was gazetted in 1994. It augments the Factories and Machinery Act of 1967, which was the main piece of legislation prior to enactment of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and which had been deemed inadequate because it did not apply work premises falling outside the definition of 'factory'. The Factories and Machinery Act of 1967, while going into details regarding specific requirements for machines, building operations, and specific hazards in factories, does not provide workers with adequate protection. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1994 was thus formulated with the intention of achieving a comprehensive legislation relating to the safety, health, and welfare of the nation's workforce.

Among its stipulations, the Act of 1994 protects workers against injuries and against the threat of dismissal or other forms of discrimination if the worker files a complaint about a matter which is considered unsafe or which poses a health risk. The Act also specifies that an employer is contravening the law if he fails to notify the nearest OSH office of an accident, a case of poisoning or an illness linked with occupational safety and health. The Act is enforced in practice by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH).

Introduction of the new Act is timely because the numbers of occupational accidents and deaths have generally been on the increase for some years (Table 1).

Table 1. Industrial mishaps reported in Malaysia (1990-1995) (1)

Year Accidents (number) Deaths (number)
1990 121,104 n.a
1991 124,898 n.a
1992 130,019 541
1993 133,293 653
1994 122,688 644
1995 114,134 952

n.a - data not available

The above mishaps occurred throughout the country, some of them in a variety of industries involving chemicals ranging from fertilizers to pesticides, synthetic rubber to plastics, paint and varnish to drugs and cosmetics.

According to the 1994 Annual Report of the Social Security Organization (2), the number of accidents in chemical-related workplaces totalled 7,648; there were 552 cases of permanent disabilities, and 52 deaths. These make up 6.2% and 8.1% of the respective total accidents and deaths for the same year. The same 1994 Annual Report listed the number of accidental acute poisonings as 1,822 (23.8% of all accidents); these acute poisonings led to 24 persons being disabled permanently (4.2%) and to seven deaths (13.5%).

Thus, as far as the National Poison Centre is concerned such mishaps notably acute chemical poisonings ought to be closely monitored to determine the appropriate preventive and safety measures that need to be taken over time. Moreover, there has been a lack of co-ordination among the relevant agencies in the various sectors. We need better co-ordination in order systematically to collect and exchange information so that we can compile more reliable baseline data to be used in developing a well-structured overall plan of action. In the context of chemical poisonings per se, which are the outcome of occupational and environmental hazards, the dissemination and sharing of quality information are indeed crucial, especially during emergencies.

Being aware of this fact, since its inception the National Poison Centre has attempted to gather relevant information that could facilitate the achievement of its mission: "To reduce the mortality, morbidity, occurrence and cost of poisoning in a manner that strives for excellence, compassion and innovation." One such attempt is the development of a specially designed computerized system, called 'the Malaysian Integrated Occupational Safety and Health Information System', whereby information can be centrally gathered and documented to reflect, among others, the actual situation involving chemical mishaps in the country. The system has been jointly developed by Integrated Drug and Poison Information Service (IDPIS) based at the National Poison Centre, and Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Ministry of Human Resources, Government of Malaysia.

The Malaysian Integrated Occupational Safety and Health Information System

The Malaysian Integrated Occupational Safety and Health Information System is an information system designed to provide information on the various institutions and organizations specially involved in occupational safety and health (OSH) within Malaysia. It is targeted for use by the policy-makers in the various government agencies, entrepreneurs and the non-governmental voluntary organizations such as the workers' union and the public concerned groups. The information contained in the system includes the availability of resources and expertise related to OSH.

The planning of and requirements for the system were coordinated by a national committee consisting of representatives from the three different sectors; namely, legislators, employers and workers, as well as non- governmental organizations. The committee outlined the important information needed to ensure the status of OSH in any organization and specified the composite statistical analysis to be generated as an indicator of OSH activity. The essential information to be identified was classified into four categories: general information about the participating organization; the availability of OSH resources in the organization; the enforcement statutory responsibilities and legislation by the participating organization; and any other comments to describe the role of the organization in implementing OSH. The committee also decided that the information requested for any organization would be collected on a voluntary basis, and that preliminary data collection would be conducted on a pilot scale basis. For this purpose, a questionnaire format was distributed to a pool of 70 organizations in Malaysia. A working committee was formed at the Department of Occupational Safety and Health to see to a high response rate of the questionnaires and to handle the input of data into the system.

The system, developed using a Clipper programme, was made suitable for use on any x86 IBM compatible computers. It consists of two main menus, one for retrieval of the organizational information involved in OSH, and the second menu to generate a statistical report to respond to any request on the participating organizations, or the OSH resources.

Retrieval system

For the retrieval of information about a particular organization, the submenus to be selected are shown in Figure 1. Under the submenu for general information, information about the organization is subdivided into contact address, the nature of the OSH activity and classification of the organization according to three main groups (i.e., governmental, private or non-profit non-governmental). The list of the organizations included in the system can be retrieved through an alphabetical listing of either the full or partial name; or through a search facility for identical or similar names. All information under the general information category are presented in a textual format. Besides the general information on a specific organization, the user can also access the availability of OSH resources within the selected organization. This submenu allows for the sharing of OSH resources among the various local organizations, with the hope that the overall Malaysian standard of OSH could be further improved through collaborative efforts. The OSH resources are arranged according to specific categories; for example, publications, type of references available at the respective organizations, expertise and equipment available, facilities developed for OSH, training programmes and the research and consultative services provided by the organization. Details of the classification used for the OSH resources are given in Appendix 1.

In addition, there is a third submenu: Statutory Responsibility and Legislation Enforced. This submenu provides a description of the various legislation made under the scope of Occupational Safety and Health in Malaysia and lists the organizations responsible for implementing and enforcing such legislation. Any additional information related to the organization is placed under a fourth submenu: Comments.

Reporting system

This system provides for the collation and generation of the overall statistical information according to a structured format. As in the retrieval system, the layout of submenus for the reporting system is presented according to the organizational profile. The first submenu of general information highlights the total number of organizations within the system, according to the categories of governmental bodies, privately owned companies, voluntary and non-profit organizations, and statutory or semi-government bodies entrusted to provide selected services within the Malaysian system.

The second submenu on the availability of OSH resources provides information (in terms of number and percentages) about organizations that have the selected OSH resources. The user can then access a listing of the individual organizations, calling up the complete profile of the organizations to be viewed. The second submenu also incorporates the computer processing abilities for the generation of a report based on all predetermined criteria (for example, references available on fire and explosion and on toxicology) or on any one of the selected criteria. In the former case, the system allows the user to search for organizations based on a multiple of criteria; for instance, organizations having complete reference materials on topics, such as environmental health, occupational health, and fires and explosions. To illustrate the latter case, the system has the capability to provide a list of organizations that can supply for a complete reference on environmental health, or occupational health, or fires and chemical explosions.

Conclusion

To date, the Malaysian Integrated Occupational Safety and Health Information System has been implemented nationwide through a coordinating agency, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of Malaysia. Since its inception in 1994, at least 150 organizations have subscribed to the system; 15% of these are organizations active in the chemical-related sector. Moreover, the National Poison Centre has developed a number of other systems to aid in the event of other chemical-related incidents, especially accidents involving pesticide poisoning. One such system is called the Pesticide Information System (3). The Centre also operates a toll-free telephone line (800-8099), serving anyone in need of assistance from the Centre, especially during emergencies. This help line has been the main route for requesting information about poisoning from the National Poison Centre.

References

1.Razak DA. Poison prevention through quality information. PRN8099, 1997;10:1–2.

2.Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) Annual Report 1994:56, 62.

3.Razak DA, Latiff AA, Majid MIA, Awang R. Case Study: Malaysian Information Service on Pesticide Toxicity (In: ILO Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety: 4th edition, Vol.2, Part 3:22.15–22.18. Ed. JM Stellman.) Geneva: International Labour Office, 1997.

Mohamed Isa Abd Majid
National Poison Centre
Universiti Sains Malaysia
11800 Penang
Malaysia

Appendix 1: Classification of OSH resources under the Malaysian Integrated Occupational Safety & Health Information System

Available references according to type of industry

Available references according to OSH subject heading

(specification is requested)

OSH expertise or relevant professionals

Facilities for OSH activities

Equipment for OSH

Field of training under OSH

Figure 1. The main menu for the retrieval of information on organizations participating in the Malaysian Integrated Occupational Safety and Health Information System.

Information on the organization

Name of organization: Aluminium Company of Malaysia Berhad

Select

General Information

Availability of OSH Resources

Statutory Responsibility &

Legislation Enforced

Comments

 

Updated by PAP/SUT/TRS. Approved by BKL. Last updated on 19 January 2001

For further information, please contact the Asian-Pacific Regional Network on Occupational Safety and Health Information (ASIA-OSH)
at Tel: +662.288.1743, Fax: +662.288.3058 or E-mail: kawakami@ilo.org

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